Ybor grew up in Spain and at age 14
immigrated to Cuba, which was then a
Spanish colony. There he worked in Cuba's most famous industry, the making
of cigars. In 1868, the Cuban revolution for
independence from Spain broke out. To avoid war, Ybor moved to Key West, Florida. He
opened a cigar making business there, but after a number of labor
disputes, moved to Tampa. In 1885, he bought
large tracts of land at the outskirts of Tampa and built a factory. He
later bought even more land and called the area Ybor City. Within a few
years, the city grew to 3,000 residents, and the area became a famous
center for making fine cigars. It also became a center for Cuban culture
in Florida, since so many of the cigar workers were from Cuba or of Cuban
descent. Jewish, German, and Italian immigrants also flocked to Ybor City.
By 1900, the city was known as “the cigar capital of the
world.” The industry began to decline, however, and in the 1920s and
1930s many of Ybor City's employees lost their jobs in the cigar
factories. Today, parts of Ybor City have been restored as a historic
landmark district.